Book One: Metallic Figment
by izscha
Summary: If there was a lost soul trapped inside you, what would you do about it? Would you try to control it - or let it control you? (Rated T - ratings may vary as the story progresses.)
1. Chapter One: From the Beginning

**A/N: Greetings. For all of you who need to know, this** _ **isn't**_ **my first time writing an XS fanfiction – only my first time writing one in this site. I truly adored XS from the very first time I watched it. Despite that all good things must come to an end, I wasn't very satisfied with how the show ended. I mean, sure we get to see who actually gotten to be the Shoku Warrior at the end. However, there were still a few loose ends that still needed to be explaining in the show. Even though we actually got a sequel, it doesn't really help that. Only to lead some confusions (for me, at least) about the franchise. With that said, here's a fanfiction where all answers will be explained, chapter by chapter. Note that this is only my headcanon and isn't actually official from the show. So if you ever asked me where I got all these "false ideas" from, I will assume that you haven't read my Author's Note and would instruct you to read it first. Carry on now.**

* * *

 _ **"** When I wake up, I'm afraid that somebody else might end up being me. **"**_

* * *

 _ **From the Beginning**_

 _Long ago, in the great land of China, once lived a lovely royal couple – an emperor and his empress consort – along with their playful young prince. They were once great rulers of their rising nation, as they were determined to not let any threat disturb the peace they had pledged to protect. Because of their good leadership and unrequited love for the land, their people adored and worshiped them gods. Everyone had believed that with them at the top, nothing bad would ever happen upon them._

 _Only if they knew that the empress had a dark secret she hid under her sleeves – or to be more precise; under her skin._

 _The empress wasn't from a royal family at first. In fact, she couldn't even remember if she ever had a family to begin with. All of her memories from the earliest years she was born seemed to be a blur, as she had a hard time figuring out what happened to her before. The only thing she could remember was a big flash, right before she woke up in a strange room, where she found the clothes she worn were torn and her appearance was quite unusual. But those weren't the worst things she had discovered that day._

 _As she almost got attacked by notorious men after she fled from the room, she had discovered something sinister that crawled under her skin. With that discovery, it scared the men away, frightened by what they had witnessed – even the empress herself was in shock as well. She had these metallic chains that were attached to her body, as if they were parts of her body that cannot be removed that easily. At first glance, she knew what those chains were made out of:_ _ **magic.**_ _The one thing the people of China feared the most._

 _Everyone believed that magic and witchcraft served nothing but chaos upon the world because of how they could not understand their true nature. So they had decided to treat those who dared to be involved with such strange matters as outcasts in their great land. That was the reason why the empress was afraid of. She was afraid to be fated as an outcast and to be treated harshly by those around her._

 _Ever since then, she had decided to keep a low profile of herself, tried to blend into the crowd (despite her appearance was quite appealing), minimized her contact with people, and so much more. She knew that to keep her secret from the world, she had to disconnect herself from it._

 _Until one day, she met up with the emperor and both of them fell in love with each other. Both of them never knew why, but their hearts would always skip a beat every time they were next to one another. It was as if they were meant to be together without any questions asked. After months and months of getting to know one another, they went to beautiful garden nearby the emperor's palace, where his majesty had proposed to her under a blooming cherry blossom. Without hesitation, she accepted his majesty's proposal and became an empress consort the next matter of days._

 _But even though they vowed to never keep secrecy from each other during their wedding, the empress didn't had the slightest thought of coming out the emperor about her dark secret. Yes, they have loved each other from the beginning regardless of knowing their flaws. However, the empress knew that their romance wouldn't have ignited if she had told his majesty about the matter._

 _The emperor wasn't fond of sorcery at all, as he was the one who strictly declared the rule of banishing the use of magic upon the land. He would even eliminate his own family if they were found guilty of breaking that one rule. That's why the empress never felt bad about keeping it a secret from her own husband._

 _She thought that maybe – just maybe – her old routine of living the same miserable life would finally come to an end. No more of her struggles of trying to live; no more of her afraid of connecting with the world; no more of her being alone without anyone to comfort her. With that said, she knew that she made the right choice._

 _Until_ _ **he**_ _showed up._

 _On the anniversary of the royal couple's marriage, appeared a small, talking red bean at their doorstep to ruin the celebration. At first, they hardly thought of the bean as a threat, due to the fact that there weren't any beans that actually hurt anyone before. But as he opened his big mouth and accused the empress of having "bad intentions" with the emperor, the empress was angered and ordered the palace guards to slay the foul thing at once._

 _As soon as the guards tried to lay a finger on him, they didn't realize that the bean had the skills of a master martial artist. He attacked the guards so swiftly with perfect timing and techniques. The royal family along with a few of their people who witnessed the action were astonished, but not as much as they feared the bean as well._

 _It finally came to empress' mind that the bean wasn't an easy foe to deal with and could affect her people's safety, which meant that she needed to use the metallic chains she had kept hidden for so long in order to stop him. But how could she possibly reveal her true self in front of everyone who had loved her because of her earnest? How could she tell her family that she broke the vow of never to keep secrecy from one another? How could she face her husband, knowing that his majesty would kill her if she told him?_

" _No, there's no need to reveal the truth," the empress had thought. "I can defeat this demonic bean without those cursed chains! For the sake of my family and my people!"_

 _The empress wasn't afraid to face the bean, as she was taught the most advanced techniques of self-defense when she became royalty – even the emperor was impressed by how a fast leaner she was. She fought the bean with crucial observation of his every counter-of-attack, making them as advantages for her. She was about to win the match, until the bean played an awful, dirty trick on her._

 _With the speed and strength the bean had, he managed to pick of a sword dropped by one of the fainted guards and aimed it at the young prince – causing the death of the royal couple's one and only child. Extremely enraged and grimaced by the bean's unforgivable action, the empress had lost control of herself, which caused her to reveal her true self in front of everyone – including her husband._

 _The empress easily dealt the bean, making him fled from the battle. But what was left was the destruction of half of the palace caused by the empress' dreadful metallic chains – which made everyone quaver in fear. No one could blame them for being scared after witnessing how she became a dangerous brute with those chains. Ashamed by his majesty had discovered his wife's secrecy and betrayal; the emperor gave out an order to his soldier to vanquish her at once._

 _Heart-broken by how her once faithful paramour had turned against her, the empress immediately ran away from the area and entered a deep, dark forest that no one dared to set foot on – probably because there were rumors of vicious predators roaming around; the reason why she chose to hide there. She had thought that it was better to be eaten by an animal than to die of a broken heart._

 _As she was on her knees and gazed upon the clouded sky above her, she started to question the world through her thoughts: Why? Why was she here in the first place? How come it had to be her to suffer? Why did she ever exist if she was meant to be slayed? Why did God bothered to bring her here? Did God even exist as well?_

 _Her endless dark thoughts were interrupted when she heard a sudden noise rustling in the bushes – the empress had thought that it was the sound of starving dwellers that had come to feast on her flesh. So she closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable to come._

 _Suddenly, she heard a crooked voice that called out to her. She recognized it, as it was the same voice that had a strange accent she had just encountered before; back at the palace, she had heard it. She knew that when she opened her eyes, the red bean was back again, with his smirk taunting the miserable empress who was 'lost' in the woods._

 _The empress was ready to charge at the foul thing that had ruined her wonderful life forever. But the bean managed to delay her attacks as he said certain things that caught her attention._

 _The bean had offered her to join the dark side – Heylin, as the bean preferred to call it – and be the ruler of her own empire, where she wouldn't have to fear of judgment from others; she would finally safe of being who she really is; she would never have to endure such great pain by the ones she had loved before; most importantly, she would finally have a turn to play god herself._

 _At first, the bean's offering seemed so tempting for the empress to believe them all. But then again, what else she could possibly lose once more? With everything said and done, she accepted the bean's offer without even thinking much about it._

 _The response that she gave were music to the bean's ears, making him grinned wildly as he thought about all of his achievements that he would accomplished with her by his side._

 _From that fateful day onward, the Heylin Empress was born – along with the darkness that grew within her._

* * *

 _ **On the next chapter: Stillness in Woe**_

 **After 6 months of inactivity after Raimundo was chosen, the Xiaolin Dragons decide to go have "a walk in the woods" to have some excitement for once. Hours later, Master Fung appeared to tell them about something serious.**


	2. Chapter Two: Stillness in Woe

_**Stillness in Woe**_

6 months.

It has already been 6 months since the universe had chosen the Shoku Warrior among the four Xiaolin Dragons; the Dragon of Wind, they had chosen. Raimundo Pedrosa, the new leader of Xiaolin.

He should be proud of the title that the universe had given to him – but then again, how can he if no conflict has ever happened for the past 6 months?

Throughout those months, there had been absolutely _nothing_ going on for the monks to be excited about. There were no new tasks for them to take; no wild adventures for them to embark; no Jack-bots for them to destroy for fun; not even a single Shen Gong Wu had revealed itself. It was as if the war between Xiaolin and Heylin had finally been averted without the monks knowing.

Then again, they don't believe that any war ends that easily. They know, because they've been through _many_ battles before – and they never ended with just a simple handshake.

Even so, with _nothing_ to do but wait for just about _anything_ to pop up, that didn't mean that the young monks didn't have any responsibility at the Xiaolin Temple. For instance, doing all the chores that their mentor, Master Fung, enlisted them to do every week. It seemed rather reasonable for them at first, as they have nothing to do at the temple. But sadly, they eventually got bored of it as it was the same work over and over again.

The monks wanted excitement; they wanted adrenaline rushing in their system again. But most importantly, they don't want to be cooped up in the temple any longer. So one day, they all went on a stroll in the woods nearby, to get some fresh air for once – and decided to have a two-against-two combat with each other.

Omi and Raimundo vs. Kimiko and Clay.

 _How wonderful._

" _Kimiko! Hit the deck!_ " Clay yelled, warning his teammate about the upcoming projectile flying towards her.

Alarmed, Kimiko swiftly dodged it, followed with a salute of gratitude to her friend. "Thanks, Clay!" As she looked around her surroundings, she noticed someone who was about to pounce at Clay. "Clay! Company at twelve o'clock!"

After being alerted, Clay immediately took a step back and avoided the sneak attack by none other than his good friend, Raimundo. "Nice to see ya by surprise, pardner!" he sarcastically greeted him.

"Nice to see you too, Texas," Raimundo replied before attempting to knew-sweep the cowboy, but failed as Clay averted the attack. They then went on a hand-to-hand combat mode using all their agility and strength at full speed.

Just as Kimiko was about to rest and watch the two boys fight, she heard a taunt from behind, "Do not let your guards _up,_ Kimiko." In a blink of an eye, she quickly moved aside just to find her _small yellow friend_ about to pounce at her. Luckily, she was fast on her feet to avoid his counter-attacks.

"It's guard _down,_ Omi." She managed to correct her friend's slang-error before dodging another attack from him.

Annoyed, Omi snorted, "Up; down; whatever! As long as you're going either directions, that is fine by me!" With that said, he went straight towards Kimiko and also began their combat mode as well.

Despite that it had been _hours_ since they began their training session together, they were still energetic with their movement and attacks. If they were ever to use any of their Shen Gong Wu, who knows what would happen to the forest.

Just as they were too distracted with their battles, they didn't noticed that their little dragon friend, Dojo, was at the scene as well. "Hey, kids! How's practice working out for ya–" his greet was cut off when Kimiko kicked him by accident. With the strength she had, Dojo flew across between Raimundo and Clay's face-off and hit against a tree bark – which made everyone stopped fighting.

Realizing her mistake, Kimiko immediately ran towards Dojo and checked on him. "Dojo! I am _so_ sorry! Are you okay?"

"Yep," Dojo groaned in agony as he fixed his aching back, "I'm okay. Nothing that a 1500-year-old dragon can't handle."

"You should've been more careful around Kimiko, Dojo. You know how she is with her kicks," Raimundo teased; even though he knew that Kimiko isn't the type take it as a joke.

"Well, I know you guys are pretty bumped out about the whole 'no-Shen-Gong-Wu-has-revealed-itself' thing for half of year now. So I'd just thought about checking you guys out to see if the training did any better for you."

"Well, it _is_ nice to be out in the open and all, but it ain't something that can cheer us up that easily," Clay stated.

"Clay's right. Ever since the universe chose _me_ as the Shoku Warrior, there hasn't been any action going on lately. I mean, what gives?" said Raimundo rather frustrated with the situation.

"Maybe it is because the universe is having a second _mind_ about choosing you as leader, Raimundo," Omi remarked.

"Ya mean a second _thought,_ li'l pardner."

"And what makes you say that, Cheese Ball?" Raimundo asked.

"Like you said, the universe has been absent for a while since the day you were chosen. It is clear that the universe has made a _big_ mistake and is deciding that _I_ should become the leader."

Irritated, Raimundo replied, "If you think you're so better than me, then how come the universe is taking _forever_ to choose you over me?"

"Because the universe knows that it is not easy to become the Shoku Warrior – even for myself. That is why the universe is taking its time to decide whether or not to burden me with such a rank."

"Sounds like the universe thinks you're not capable of handling _such a rank._ " With that comeback of his, Raimundo received the "ooo's" from his friends.

Omi glanced back at Raimundo as he said, "What does that have to mean anything?"

"You know what it means, Lemon Head."

"Well, I'll have you know that I am highly-trained better than you; so no, I do not know what it means."

"What makes you think you're better than us? We were all trained by the same master, for Pete's sake!"

"Yes, but _I_ was the first one Master Fung taught before all of you came along!"

"It doesn't matter if you've been trained longer than me, Shortstuff Cheesepuff. That doesn't make you any far better than us."

"Stop calling me names that _clearly_ do not define my true excellency as a Xiaolin Warrior!"

As both of them rambled on with their petty bickering, Clay whispered into Kimiko's ear. "Wanna bet chores to see if they spendin' their fight like whistlin' up the wind and hollerin' down a well?"

"You're on, Clay," Kimiko said.

As everyone was busy with their own conversation, they didn't realize that Master Fung had appeared in the scene. "Well, I see that all of you are having fun out in the woods," he said, alerting them of his presence and made them went silent for a moment.

"Master Fung!" Omi immediately greeted him. "How long have you been standing there?"

"For a while now. Though, I see that all of you are still quite upset about how the universe is in an reassuringly stillness."

"That's probably because we're board as heck by just standing and doing nothing but chores, trainings, and also the constant drama that Omi keeps throwing at me," Raimundo sarcastically vented.

"I do not throw drama at you!" Omi exclaimed. "You are the one who picks up the drama out of nowhere!"

"I don't even know what that's supposed to mean."

Omi then turned to Master Fung and said, "Master Fung, you are the wisest one among us all. Surely, you can tell us that the reason why it has been awfully quiet for the past six months is because that the universe is deciding a new Shoku Warrior instead of Raimundo."

After hearing Omi's statement, Master Fung simply chuckled and patted his bald head. "A brilliant deduction, Omi," he praised him, trying to cool his ego down. "However, that is not the reason why the universe remains in silence."

"Then what is it?"

Master Fung then started to have a serious look in his face as he gazed at his pupil. "Gather around, young monks. There is something that I wish to tell you, and you need to listen carefully."

As the monks gathered and sat on the ground, Dojo slithered onto Clay's shoulder's and rested there, as he enthusiastically spoken, "Oh boy, oh boy! Story time! I love it when Fungy-Wungy tells us a story in the middle of the woods like this!" That actually never happened before, but Dojo was still thrilled about it.

A soft, gentle breeze rustled the trees in the forest as Master Fung was about to say something.

"Young monks, since the day you all started your journey together as a team, you have been through many trials and tasks throughout the way. From travelling to new, undiscovered places – to saving the world from the clutches of Heylin countless of times. And despite the road to become Xiaolin Dragons had its ups and downs, you all were able to pull it off together as a team. I must say, I have never been more proud of how far you came with your achievements as my students – as my _children._ "

Master Fung's comment made the monks glanced at each other with brimming smiles, feeling rather proud about the accomplishments they've gained together.

"However, despite how many battles you've won over the past year, the war between Xiaolin and Heylin is still not over – in fact, with this on-going stillness we have for quite a while, I have a feeling that this is only the beginning."

Confused, Kimiko then asked, "The beginning of what, exactly?"

Master Fung went silent for a while, then spoke, "Many years ago, Grand Master Dashi had successfully defeated Wuya by trapping her inside the Puzzle Box. After that fiasco had drifted away, he began building the Xiaolin Temple as a place for him to teach students into harnessing the true essence of Xiaolin Magic.

"But as the construction was still in progress, Dashi was visited by a strange man in a worn-out dark cloak with an oddly looking scythe in his hand. The man had spoken to him in a dead and adenoidal voice, riddling his words as he said:

 _Two creatures of us seven still awoken.  
Both in dismal of how their ties have broken.  
One tries to live anew in a new mind.  
The other tracks him down from behind.  
Within the years of how your pupil have stray.  
He'll no longer see the light that showed him the way.  
Instead, he finds someone who knows of his stature.  
Who ends up being his one and only demur.  
After the centuries you have been vanquished.  
Awakens the flare of war you had extinguished.  
But there is a time that when in woe, there is stillness.  
That is the time when one of them emerges from darkness.  
And when they finally cross paths once again…  
Expect your kind to be part of the pain._

"After he had spoken, the man walked away, leaving Dashi continuing building the Temple." As Master Fung glanced at the monks, they all just gave him a blank stare.

Then, Clay spoke for them all and asked, "Not to be rude, sir. But that sounded like how I got my tongue caught in my eyeteeth and I couldn't see what I was sayin'."

"I think what Clay's trying to say is that… it makes no sense to us," said Kimiko.

"Master Fung, what did the man meant exactly?" Omi asked.

"Nobody knows what the man meant – not even Dashi could figure it out."

" _What?_ " Omi responded in disbelief. "But he is the legendary Xiaolin Warrior that ever lived! How can he not know what the man had spoken?"

"Kid, Dashi was a warrior, not a wordsmith." Dojo explained, "Do you think he had the time to learn about literature and stuff when Wuya was still rampaging with her giant, weird-looking rock creatures back then?"

"So, he actually never break the code?" Kimiko asked.

"Eh, he gave up on it after ten minutes of looking through it."

"Then, what does this have to do with our situation?"

"Funny you should ask, Kimiko," Master Fung said. "While I took the time to study about the riddle, there were these lines that intrigued me–"

" _But there is a time that when in woe, there is stillness. That is the time when one of them emerges from darkness,_ " Raimundo said out of the blue, making everyone looked at him for a brief moment.

"Yes, Raimundo. Those are the lines that intrigued me."

"Why do they?" Kimiko asked again.

"Because," Raimundo explained, "the first line mentioned about 'stillness', which could refer to our current situation. Next, the second line said that within that time, 'one of them' is about to appear themselves. When you put them altogether, it tells us that as both Xiaolin and Heylin are in a stand-still, something – or _someone_ – might appear and cause a disturbance."

"Excellent work, Raimundo," Master Fung praised him. "You managed to study those lines with just short time."

"Well, I'm not the Shoku Warrior for nothing." He then sneered at Omi.

Omi just pouted, irritated by his friend's unwanted mockery.

Master Fung then continued, "The point being, it is clear to me that the man Dashi encountered must've told him of what would happen in the future."

"I reckon that means our present time."

"Yes, that's why you must know of this matter. If the riddle is actually a prediction of what would happened in our time, then that means we have to be well-prepared for what would happen next."

"Is 'the next big thing' really that bad?" Raimundo rhetorically asked. "I mean, we've dealt with a lot of things throughout the year. We've stopped Wuya, Chase Young and Hannibal from reining over this world a bunch of times – and they're one of the three most powerful beings on the Heylin side! I think for the next one, we would be ready from anything."

"Do not be so cocky, Raimundo. The universe may have chosen you to be the Shoku Warrior, but you still have a lot to learn to truly become one. As close comrades, you all should take this moment of silence as the perfect time to not just strengthen your will, but also strengthen your bonds together. Who knows? Maybe the next one might even challenge your friendship you've built together."

"Do not _cry_ it, Master Fung," Omi said.

"Don't _sweat_ it," Raimundo corrected him.

"As Raimundo says – we will take this opportunity to train ourselves into the greatest Xiaolin Warriors we could ever be!"

"I'm glad to hear that, Omi. As the saying goes, _he who sweats the most during training is the one who bleeds less in the war._ "

"Really? How does sweating more can make us bleed less?"

"He means it as a metaphor, Yellowtail."

"I thought I told you to stop calling me objects!"

Before Omi and Raimundo started to bicker again, Master Fung interrupted, "Would you look at the time? It's almost getting dark out here. I think it's time to call it day and return to the Temple."

"It's that late already?" Kimiko as everyone got up on their feet. "That explains why I'm sweating so much. Feels like we've only been in this forest for a few minutes."

"Well, you know what they say: time sure flies when you're having fun!" Dojo said.

"I'm sure that being kicked by Kimiko is anything _but_ fun," Raimundo joked, causing Kimiko to punch him in the shoulder. " _Ouh!_ I kid, I kid, alright?"

"You're lucky that I didn't kick you, then," Kimiko sneered as all of them started to leave the area.

" _Sheesh,_ can't a guy have fun once in a while?"

"I think you have more than enough for one day, Rai."

"Well, that's just what you like about me, ain't it, Kim?"

"I like you better if you could keep your mouth shut for once."

"Now that's just cold."

"How did Kimiko's words made you feel cold, Raimundo?"

"… Forget it."

As they were walking out of the woods, a dark, menacing crow lurked in the shadows that had observed them for quite a long time. By the time they were out of its sight, the crow flew into the sky and went straight to the Land of Nowhere – where Chase Young's citadel is located.

* * *

 ** _On the next chapter: Prideful Eyes_**

 **Chase Young receives intel about what Master Fung had told the monks with the help of one of his servants. Moments later, Wuya appears and ruins his mood like always.**


	3. Chapter Three: Prideful Eyes

_**Prideful Eyes**_

Once the crow arrived to its destination, it went through the entrance to Chase Young's citadel and entered the throne room. There, it saw Chase Young practicing his tai chi in silence, along with a few of his jungle cats watching him from a distance. Carefully, the crow landed on one of his shoulders and whispered something into his ear. After it has delivered the information he needed, Chase responded, "Good. You may go now." The bird then left, leaving Chase continuing with his tai chi in peace and quiet.

"So, what did the bird told you?"

 _Almost_ peace and quiet.

Chase Young glanced to his right, only to find the smirking Wuya who was leaning against one of the room's pillars. To his dismay, he replied, "Even if I told you, you wouldn't be that interested in it," as he continued on with his practice.

A bit 'impaired', Wuya said, "Still giving me the cold shoulders, huh? I thought when you said 'for the sake of being evil'; we've already settled things like grown adults by now."

"I hardly think of you as a _grown adult,_ since you keep making decisions on your own as if it's child's play."

"So you _are_ still mad about the eclipse incident, aren't you?" Wuya remembered the time when she collaborated with Hannibal Roy Bean during the total eclipse in order to use Chase's weakness against him. Since then, their relationship has been rather… _strained_ over the past few months. "How many times do I have to tell that I was sorry?"

"You only know when to apologize once you desperately want something from _a certain someone._ So there's no point for you to keep wasting your breath on insincere apologies."

"Well, it's not _my_ fault that _a certain someone_ doesn't give me what I want. If you could just remove the seal that binds my powers–"

" _Never_ in this lifetime."

"–or at least tell me what your minion said, I wouldn't be such a nag to you every now and then."

Annoyed by her childish behavior, Chase had to pause his tai chi practice and went to sit on his throne, as he finally opened up, "The monks had a talk with their mentor out in the woods earlier."

"Oh… that's all?" Wuya asked, rather disappointed with the answer. "Did they mention about any Shen Gong Wu, by chance? Perhaps, a new one that just revealed itself?"

"If a new Shen Gong Wu has revealed itself, you would be the first one to know and take actions on your own – like you usually would." Chase snapped his fingers at one of his jungle cats, signaling them to fetch him something. Knowing what it was, one of them left the room to fulfill his request.

"Well… yes, I would have. But who knows? Maybe all this while, my age is starting to catch up with me – despite that I still look drop dead gorgeous.

 _Well, I wish you would just_ _ **drop**_ _and be_ _ **dead**_ _by now,_ Chase wanted to say. Instead, he continued, "Anyway, back on topic: _No,_ they didn't mention about any Shen Gong Wu at all. But they did mention about a stranger that Dashi had encountered before."

" _A stranger?_ " Wuya acted so surprised. "What's so fascinating about a stranger that Dashi encountered? He probably has met – like – _millions_ of people when he hid all of the Wu's around the world."

Abruptly, the jungle cat from before had returned as it was carrying something with its mouth. It turned out that the cat had brought the infamous Lao Mang Long Soup (in a cup), as Chase Young requested. After it gave Chase the cup, it returned back to its position from earlier.

After taking a quick sip from it, Chase Young continued on, "I'm not so certain as well. However, it seems like the stranger had told Dashi about something that would occur in our current predicament."

"Well, _what_ would happen in our current predicament, then?" Wuya was getting rather impatient with him.

"According to Fung, the man might have said to him that when stillness occurs between both sides, a great disturbance will happen which causes everything into havoc."

"'Might have'?"

"The man spoke in riddles, so it's impossible for anyone to understand what he mean–" he finished his cup and put it on his throne's armrest, "–not that I could care less about it."

Acknowledging the last part, Wuya queried, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well," Chase got up from his throne, "if it were something that's supposed to be a – I don't know – _anything_ that serves as a threat, it wouldn't really amuse me that much."

"You sound rather cocky about it, _o' great ruler of Heylin,_ " she mocked his title.

"Like you said, Wuya," he approached her, "I _am_ the great ruler of Heylin. If something that was predicted by a mere stranger were meant to be something that serves any significance at all – I wouldn't waste my time on thinking about the possible outcome." He then walked in circles around Wuya, as a sadistic way to taunt her.

"Careful with that sharp tongue of yours, boy," Wuya warned him, proving herself that she wasn't that shaken by him. "You know how pride is one of the seven deadliest sins that poison man himself."

"If it was supposed to be _deadly,_ why am I still alive 'til this very moment?"

"Oh, your time will come one day – fate is just taking its time to deliver your well-deserved karma to your doorstep."

"I wouldn't be surprised if that karma of yours actually got lost in its way and suddenly was sent to you instead. Now _that_ would be something that can amuse me."

"It sounds to me that you're not actually ready to face your karma."

" _Please._ If a great ruler like me were ever to quaver because of how karma is going collect their debt, they wouldn't qualify as one – and if it were that insect, Jack Spicer, I'm sure that he wouldn't even last a second."

"Well, you got one point there… but still, when that time comes; don't expect me to help you."

"Ha! Now there's a joke I can laugh at," he glanced at Wuya, as if he couldn't take her words that serious. "You? As _my_ savior? I hardly see you as the terrifying Heylin Witch who Dashi spent years to defeat you."

With every taunt Chase gave, Wuya grew very impatient. "That's probably because those prideful eyes of yours blind you to see the true nature of your enemy."

"Oh, _really?_ " he said rather sarcastic, "So you need to tell me that your 'I-scratch-your-back-if-you-scratch-mine' attitude isn't actually your true nature? You're just as pathetic as Hannibal; always relying on others in order to get what you truly desire – I know how people like you live. You all think that once everyone is on your side, you consider yourselves as invincible and can't be touched. But the thing is, your pride is much deadlier than mine.

"For you see, you may think that the strength that you harness from others belongs to you. But in reality, you shamelessly show to your enemy that you're actually weak who hides within the strength of others – just like how you forced yourself to be under my care; or how that insect tends to believe that I was ever on his side in the first place.

"It actually saddens me to know that people like you still exist in this timeline – I thought you all would've been extinct by now. Instead, I find you crawling back to me every now and then, knowing that I'm the only last resort that can help you shirk the blame you caused. So tell me, Wuya, who's the one who should be afraid? Me–" Suddenly, he grabbed Wuya's chin so that he could make her eyes meet his, as he continued his line in a low, threatening tone, "– _or you?_ "

With that said, Wuya immediately shoved him aside, as she couldn't stand being near him any longer.

Knowing how it frightened her greatly, Chase heavily chuckled as he said, "That'll stop you from nagging so much." It was as if he had purposely said those words as a sick way to joke with her. "Now if you don't mind, I would like to continue with my practice."

With silence as Wuya's answer, Chase continued with his tai chi practice, as if none of it ever happened. Instead of sticking around, Wuya furiously stomped out of the room, leaving him alone to be proud of his foolish pride.

 _Just you wait, Chase Young,_ Wuya had thought, _with that pride of yours, you'll be the one who bows down to me._ She then left the citadel, knowing that she no purpose of staying there any longer.

* * *

 _ **On the next chapter: Prey in Detroit**_

 **The first day of summer begins, as we see a girl who lives in Detroit is having some "personal issues" with herself.**


	4. Chapter Four: Prey in Detroit

**[Author's Note at the very end of this chapter]**

 **[The author has recommended the readers to listen to "Prey" by the Neighbourhood before proceeding with this chapter]**

 **[Why? Because it's a very good song to listen to.]**

* * *

 _ **Prey in Detroit**_

The weather in Detroit wasn't that very cheerful in any way. _True_ that it wasn't raining – but it wasn't that sunny either, even though it's already the summers. But even though the condition was rather gloomy, all the kids and preteens from school were still excited when the bell rang. Do you know why? Why, it's the first day of summers, of course! You know what that means?

 _School is out for the summer!_

With sheer excitement the youth displayed, they rushed out of the building and immediately left the school grounds; like ants leaving their colony behind. With every kid bumping into each other like crazy, it would be hard remember _any_ of faces if asked for testimony. Although, there was one particular girl that stood out among the rest who would always catch everyone's attention by just being present in the scene.

Then again, with natural-looking silver hair, flawless white skin and amethyst-colored eyes, how can anyone _not_ notice her at all?

As soon as she walked out of the building, all eyes were laid on her, as if her unique appearance is like a magnet to them. They would always wonder where did she get her genes from, but never bothered to ask her. In fact, nobody bothered to even talk to her. It's due to the fact that she seems… "Socially bizarre" that nobody thinks of her as a "normal human being." With that said, the girl would usually be seen all alone at school, with no one to talk to her.

Even so, she seemed to be alright about it. As long as it's better than to be bullied out of peer-pressure, there's no reason for her to worry about it. After all, she couldn't really blame them for thinking her appearance is odd; she's also strange about it herself. _She's not really sure if she was born with it as well._

Before she started to walk home from school, she was actually in the mood of listening to her music. So she took out her phone and picked this _particular song_ in her playlist that she'd listen through her earphone along the way.

The girl walked through a mild-busy street down the road, since her home wasn't really that far. But still, she had to be careful along the way, as there were numerous of reports about _weird things_ happening in that specific street. One might think of listing down all those _weird things_ to clarify what they were. However, in this case, it's not very "child-friendly" to talk about them here.

Minutes went by, and she had already arrived to her destination. It wasn't really much of a _luxurious apartment,_ as the name would say. But as long as there were no rats in the kitchen anymore, it was luxury nonetheless.

She entered the building, used the stairs (because the elevator was down again) and went to the third floor, where her apartment room was: Door 36. With the digit 6 dangled up-side-down. That was her place. _We should really fix that,_ she thought as she remembered those weird they kept receiving at their front door, which was constantly mistaken to be someone else's door.

Again, it's not very "child-friendly" to clarify what they were.

The girl took out a key from her bag-pocket and unlocked the door, letting herself in. As she entered the living room, she was greeted by a woman with her dark, ebony hair tied up while sitting on a couch, reading a chick-lit magazine. "Hey there, Kyla," the woman said, "How was school today?"

"Hey, Nancy," Kyla greeted back as she paused her music and put her earphones away. "School was pretty much the same as always; only when the bell rang, a lot of them ran in _Super Sanic_ mode – which isn't a surprise, since it's the last day of school." She then put down her bag on a sofa.

"And also–" Nancy put her magazine away as well and looked at her with excitement in her eyes, "–your last day of junior high."

Kyla rolled her eyes and sighed, knowing what her guardian meant by that. "Nancy, c'mon. We've talked about this before. I'm just turning fifteen – there's no need to get worked up over it."

Nancy then stood up and gave her a warm hug as well as a soft kiss on her forehead. "I know, baby. But I just can't believe that this little angel that I've been raising has already grown so much. I mean, look at you!" She stared into Kyla's eyes as her hands were on her shoulders. "You've grown into a fine, beautiful woman – and I'm not saying it like a modest-mother would say to their daughter."

"Stop it," Kyla chuckled.

"It's true! Who would've thought that you'd grown up looking like Snow White but with silver hair?"

"Snow White wasn't beautiful. She was just 'the fairest of them all.'"

"Which makes you _way_ more beautiful than her."

Kyla just simply backed away and plummeted on the sofa. "So, what do you have in store for my birthday?" she asked in a subtle way.

"I'd tell you, but it's a surprise."

"You always say that every year."

"Because every year is a surprise, dear. You're the one who keeps asking the question."

It wasn't actually a surprise to Kyla, per se. She knew that Nancy would make her a cake, give her a birthday present, and then tells her about a story about when she was about her age, just like every year. But for this year, she wanted to ask for something _different_ from Nancy.

Nancy then looked at her watch to see what time it was. "Whoops, looks like your ca– I mean, your _surprise_ is ready. Why don't you go and put your bag in your room first while I set things up in the kitchen? I'll call you when everything's done."

"Sure, no prob." Kyla grabbed her bag and went into her room, leaving Nancy to do her "magic" in the kitchen.

Inside her room had a bunch of stuff that you'd normally see inside every teen-aged hipster's room: band posters hanging on the wall; a few stuffed animals on the bed; lighting decorations tangled around her bedpost; you name it. But only, it was _way_ purple than it should've been. She calls it her Purple Hipsterland, "a place where every shade of purple exist." Even though she wouldn't call herself as a hipster, she really likes hipster-stuff – and purple.

After she put down her bag at the end of her bed, she then sat down at her desk and checked her phone out to see if there were any news reports about _a certain topic_ that she'd been following up for a few months now. Sadly, there wasn't anything that interested her. _For ten years, you would've thought they'd finally show up by now,_ she thought rather sourly as she practically threw her phone at her desk.

As she leaned back on her chair, she stared at a wall full of colorful notes and printed-out papers that she had done over the months. _Where are you? How come you're not looking for me?_

"Kyla!" Nancy loud voice was heard through the walls. "Everything's set! You can come to the kitchen now!"

"Coming!" Kyla replied. As she stood up, she wished herself luck, left the room and entered the kitchen – just to find Nancy holding a freshly-baked purple cake in front of her.

"Surprise!" she exclaimed. "It's vanilla! Your favorite flavor."

"Aw, you shouldn't have!" she lied, trying to not her guardian's feelings.

"Well, it _is_ your birthday – and since it's your fifteenth one, I thought I'd make it special; no more yam-flavored cake this time!" Nancy then placed the cake on a table to put some candles on it.

While she was doing so, Kyla began to speak, "So, um… Nancy."

"Hm?" Nancy's eyes were still fixated on the candles.

"I've been meaning to ask you this for a long time, and I know that it might break your hea–"

"Could you pass the candle, sweetie?"

Kyla picked up the lighter near her and gave it to her. "Well, I've been doing some research about a certain topic, but still couldn't find answers. So after this is over, I was wondering if we could go to the ho–"

"There we go!" Nancy had finished lighting up the candles. "Come on, Kyla. Make a wish!"

Despite that she was trying to finish her sentence, she sat down on her seat and began blowing out all the candles – with Nancy taking a picture of it, like most people would these days. Of course, she did made a wish out of it; she wished that she would finally finish her sentence soon enough. "Like I was saying: I was hoping that you and I could… you know? Go to the–"

"Hold that thought, Kyla. I'll be right back!" she said before leaving the kitchen all of a sudden.

As Kyla waited, she gazed at the frosted cake, amazed by how well-made it was. She had to admit, it was one good-looking cake – and it was vanilla! She figured that it must have cost Nancy quite a lot to buy the ingredients. She then wondered why vanilla is so expensive in Detroit. Probably because it was the only pure thing left in the dark city they had to live in.

Her train of thoughts soon ended when Nancy came back with a purple-colored-wrapped box with a white ribbon tied around it in her hand. "Alright, Kyla. Are you ready to open your present?" She then handed the box to her.

"Don't you think I'm too old for stuffed animals? I mean, I have enough in my room and–"

"This time is different," she insisted. "Go on and open the box!"

Without any more questions, Kyla began unwrapping the box. She had initially thought that if it wasn't another stuffed animal, it might be something similar to a stuffed animal.

Instead, when she opened it, she was surprise to see a sweater inside. But it wasn't just any sweater – it was a purple sweater with white shoulders on it. She found it very odd as she seemed to have seen it somewhere before, but couldn't figure out exactly where. As she inspected the sweater in detail, she realized that it had the letter 'R' written on the left side. She then figured out where she last seen it before.

"This… this is the one that was displayed at that clothing department the other day." Kyla then turned her attention to Nancy who was smiling. "How did you know I actually wanted this?"

"Kyla," Nancy chuckled. "Even though I never knew that you didn't like yam-flavored cakes all this while, that doesn't mean I don't know you that well. Beside, you'd always stare at that sweater every time we pass by the shop. You'd think I'd never notice that?"

"Gee, thanks for buying this for me – but isn't it expensive, though?" Kyla remembered glancing at the price tag for the sweater, which was _ridiculously_ high than she expected it to be.

"Well, it might be expensive for you – but I still got enough money left to feed us both."

"You really out-did-it yourself this year, Nancy."

"Like I said before, it's your fifteenth birthday! It has to be special in any way – now go put it on! I wanna see how well you'd look in it."

With that said, Kyla stood up and wore the sweater. The sweater felt very comfortable than what she had expected to it. No wonder it was expensive.

"Look at you, looking like a star!" Nancy complimented.

"Really? With a white t-shirt underneath and faded grey jeans, I actually look like a ball of gas?" Sure, she looked quite alright in it. But she knew that she looked _nothing_ like a star.

"Ha ha, very funny," Nancy then took out a knife as she wanted to cut the cake for Kyla. "So, Kyla, what is it that you wanted to tell me?"

 _Finally_. "Right! What I wanted to tell you is that… well… um, it's _something._ " For some reason, Kyla suddenly lost the confidence of asking something from Nancy.

"You said something about doing some research?" she cut out a slice of cake and put it in a plate before she handed it to Kyla.

"Uh… yeah, I did." Knowing how Nancy doesn't like her to stand while eating, she took a seat at the table. "And I still couldn't find the answers I was looking for, so…"

"Is it a project that you're working on?" Nancy also sat down as she continued on the conversation.

"…Something like that."

"That's really interesting. What's the topic about?"

For a moment, Kyla was silent, knowing how this _certain topic_ might upset her guardian. However, she managed to continue subtly as she asked, "Nancy, is it a bother if I ask you something?"

Nancy gave a warm smile to her as she said, "Anything for my little angel."

With that said, Kyla took a deep breath, and let out the words she had been meaning to say, "Can we go to the hospital after this?"

Nancy then stared at her for a moment, trying to process what did she said earlier. "What? Why? Are you sick?"

As she was about to reach her forehead to check her temperature, Kyla nudged her hand aside and explained, "I'm fine. It's just that… it's already been ten years since I've been here and… well, it's not like I enjoy your company. In fact, it would be ungrateful for me to not appreciate all of the things you've done for me over the years. I _really_ appreciate you. It's just that…"

"You want to take another blood sample again?"

Kyla looked back at her guardian, only to find that she wasn't smiling anymore. Despite the guilt inside her, she continued on, "Again, I'm not saying I don't enjoy being here. But for ten years, I've just… been wondering where are they now."

"Kyla, as much as I wanna help you find your family, there's really no point of going to the hospital again. You know that the results keep showing–"

"'No Results Found', yes I know. But who knows? Maybe there's a DNA match this time?"

"If there was a DNA match, the hospital would've told me by now."

"Maybe they need a new sample to continue with their search?"

"Kyla–"

"I mean, DNA samples expire sometimes, right? They probably need me to make a new sample again or something."

"Kyla–"

"Or maybe, they've kinda lost our contacts? I think it's best if we go back to the hospital and give them new ones, right?"

" _Kyla–_ "

"Yeah, we should definitely go check up on them to see what's up, how's that sounds–"

"Kyla!" Nancy snapped, which brought Kyla into silence. "We're trying to celebrate your birthday here – and all of a sudden, you want to have your blood to be sample _for the fifth time?_ "

"Well, first of all: This _isn't_ my birthday, as _I_ don't know when I was born – it's the day when I was found. Second of all: It's been _ten years,_ Nancy. Don't you think that I wouldn't be sad about my family not attending to my 'fifteenth birthday'?"

"I _am_ your family, Kyla."

"I meant my _biological_ family, Nancy."

" _Biological_ doesn't mean family."

"Well, _being found_ doesn't mean _being born._ "

"Where is this coming from, exactly? You have never, _ever_ brought up this topic before since the day you've arrived here. Is it because of peer-pressure? Is someone bullying you at school–"

"I'm just tired feeling like prey, alright!" Kyla slammed the table with frustration as she immediately stood up from her seat, avoiding eye-contact with Nancy.

For the longest moment, the kitchen felt like it was getting smaller for Kyla, as tension between them started to build up the longer they remained silent.

"What do you mean by 'prey'?" Nancy finally spoke, which made Kyla _slightly_ relieved about it.

"I'm just… just…" she struggled to find the words, still avoiding looking at her guardian in the eyes as she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "I've… always feel like 'prey' ever since I got here… not because of how I never blend in, or how people see me differently… but because… _because…_ "

"Because…?"

"…I feel like I don't belong here."

"Sweetie, don't be nonsense. Even though you look different doesn't mean that–"

"That's not what I meant."

Nancy suddenly fell silent again.

"I mean; I don't know why, but I have the strangest feeling that I'm supposed to be someplace else. I don't exactly know where that place is, but I feel that it's not here – which bothers me a lot. Because knowing that you're not supposed to be here, it feels like… you're in someone else's territory for no reason; you have no permission to stay here; you can pretend that you belong here. But really, you just… you just _don't._ You _can't_ pretend your feelings – and even if you can, those feelings that you've kept inside will soon make you feel like… like… _like–_ "

"Feel like prey?" Nancy helped her finished her sentence.

"Exactly," Kyla said. "The reason why I feel like prey is because… someday, someone will find out that you're not okay being here, and they'll ask you a lot of questions. Once they ask the questions… you just feel numb and don't know what to say or do. It's like they're the predators and you're…" Realizing of what she just said, she finally looked back at Nancy, who showed a concerning look in her eyes all this time. "… _I'm_ prey."

Kyla knew she shouldn't have said anything in the first place. Because at that moment, somebody had found out about her dilemma: Nancy.

"…I know that it sounds complicated, and I don't expect you to understand every word I just said – forget about the hospital thing. I've changed my mind about it," Kyla tried to laugh it off; even though she knew that it wouldn't work. "I'm not really in the mood of eating cake – I'll put it away in the fridge."

As she was about her slice, Nancy suddenly said, "I'll clean it up after this. You should get some rest, dear. It's been a day."

Despite that she didn't want to burden her guardian with the chores, Kyla followed her order and went straight into her room. She then plummeted onto her bed, with her face staring at the ceiling. She actually wanted to cry, but for some reason they wouldn't come out of the dark. So instead, she covered her eyes with her arm, trying to numb the pain within the darkness she saw.

But it didn't work. Because at that moment, somebody knew that she was prey.

As she wallowed away in her sadness, she didn't know that at one of her bedroom windows, an odd bird covered in black and red feathers had intently watched her hidden within the shadows. If only she knew that she really was prey, because someone with dark intentions had been spying on her for so long until that very day.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that was a bit emotional for a character introduction, don't you think?**

 **Anyway, greetings - and thank you for reading this chapter! (You did read the whole thing, right?) The reason why I posted this chapter a bit early than expected is because this will be my last update for this year, as I'll be going on a vacation with my relatives in a few days to celebrate New Years Eve. And knowing that I easily get lazy after going on a holiday and I don't want to post-pone this update for who knows how long, I've decided to force myself into finishing this before midnight. (It's currently almost 11 PM as I write this.)**

 **So yeah, happy holidays to everyone who celebrates their custom holiday this, and I also want to wish everyone to have a happy new year! I'm pretty sure everyone agrees that 2016 has been really... _hectic._ Heck, it has been really hectic for me as well, since this is my last year as a high schooler (I still can't believe I'm an adult now) and I had to struggle _a lot_ for this year. I'm just surprised that I actually survived through all the "obstacles" I had to face.**

 **Now that I don't have to worry about school anymore, I want to focus on finishing this story before September 2017, since that's when I'll be busy with my university/pre-university/college life. I've already planned out about 49 chapters for Book One, and I've already finished 4 chapters so far... so 45 more chapters to go! (OH BOY) Will I ever finish this story on time? _Let nature takes its course, my young grasshopper._**

 **That's awfully long for an Author's Note. I'll stop here now.**

 **So...**

 **Carry on now.**

 **P/S: What do you think about the new cover I've made? You can check out my DA account to see the full image. (Which is linked in my bio, in case that you're wondering.)**


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